2.25: A Girl’s LifeWith a gesture, Baku dismissed the illusion that kept us in the dark.

  The shadows peeled away like yers of ink being lifted from parchment, drifting upward in weightless ribbons before dissolving into the rafters. In their pce, the true interior of his ir materialized. It was warm, dim, and unexpectedly cozy.

  A circur chamber carved out of smooth stone unfolded around us. The floors were polished to a dark sheen, reflecting the gentle glow of scattered nterns. Intricate dream sigils were scrawled across the walls like faintly pulsing vines.

  A firepce crackled quietly near the far wall, casting soft amber light across a hearth where a modest iron teapot rested, steam rising zily from its spout as if it had been waiting for guests.

  A low shogi table sat by the firepce. There were two cushions. Beside it stood a cquered cabinet stuffed with scrolls, bound books, and small boxes that likely contained his dream-crafting tools.

  It felt less like a monster’s den and more like stepping into the parlor of a slightly eccentric, very old professor.

  Natalia-sama took the room in with fond eyes. A gentle nostalgia softened her expression in a way I hadn’t seen since we stepped into our minka’s garden and into the shrine in front. Rui rexed slightly at my side. Ume csped her hands together, delighted by the hidden coziness of the pce. Even Akuchi, whose fur had puffed out from the earlier chaos, seemed impressed.

  Baku turned toward the teapot, reaching for it with one elegant, long-fingered hand, but Natalia-sama’s voice stopped him.

  “We can have tea once they’re off to dreamnd,” she said warmly. “Let’s discuss the structure that this dream should take.”

  Baku sighed, a theatrical exhation that made his trunk droop dramatically before curling back up in a refined motion. He moved to the firepce and seated himself in a red upholstered, very comfortable-looking chair, resting both hands atop his cane with stately ease. The firelight caught in his polished tusks.

  “Very well,” he said, settling into his role of “architect of dreams” with visible pride. “Given how much time you have left and the amount of time my dream world will gain you, I don’t see why we are in such a hurry… but you are the client, and the client is always right.” His voice swelled with the dignity of a creature who created worlds for a living, aside from eating human nightmares.

  He turned one eye toward me, evaluating and calcuting, but only for a breath before returning his attention to Natalia-sama.

  “Tell me about this world that you desire for her.”

  Natalia-sama moved with smooth grace, settling herself on the chair opposite him with the soft brushing of her silk dress against its upholstery. Her tails fanned behind her in a perfect crescent, their tips swaying like feathers stirring in a breeze. She leaned back comfortably, crossing one leg over the other, her posture nguid but alert.

  “It’s very much like old times, is it not?” she said, her smile blooming with genuine warmth. “I have many good memories here. Quiet evenings pying shogi.”

  She lifted her hands and cpped them once, delighted. “But right to the task.” She extended her index finger, her eyes sparkling. “Are you familiar with modern Tokyo?”

  Baku grinned, tapping his cane lightly. “Oh yes. Very much so. I’ve studied over the st century and continually updated my material so that when I finish attaining a human form, I will fit in perfectly.”

  Natalia-sama’s ughter chimed like bells. “Why the 1800s western getup, then?”

  Baku let out a full, resonant belly ugh, his trunk curling in amusement. “Why indeed! It’s where I began… and I believe it best fits who I am. Even though a few centuries have passed since then, I’ve discovered that a suit and top hat like these still fit in beautifully. I would draw some attention, certainly, but I’m not the least bit averse to that.” He extended one finger, almost theatrically.

  “Ah, I see! It’s calcuted!” Natalia-sama ughed, delighted. “I was afraid you’d fallen behind in your studies from losing faith.”

  Baku’s expression twisted wryly for a heartbeat before smoothing. “Not at all, dear dy. I haven’t lost faith for even a single moment.” His eyes glimmered. “What setting do you desire?”

  Natalia-sama’s gaze softened into something thoughtful and precise.

  “A high school from around ten years ago.”

  Baku blinked. His trunk dipped.

  “A high school?” He tilted his head. “You wish to send them back to school? That doesn’t sound like any kind of pleasant dream vacation I’d have considered.”

  “I did mention training, did I not?” Natalia-sama replied, smiling slyly. “There is something our young dy can learn from such an environment. The dream should st approximately three months in dream-time. No more than two days in the human world.”

  “Hmm…” Baku rubbed at one tusk thoughtfully. “That shouldn’t be a problem.” His eyes slid toward me, curious. “Though I confess I’m unsure what such a pce would teach your girl. Why not send her to Tibet to learn from the gurus there? Ah, but…” He tapped his cane lightly against the floor. “Truthfully, you would have to bring such a guru to me first. If you wish her to learn martial arts, you will need someone whose knowledge I can draw upon.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem,” Natalia-sama said with quiet assurance. “Draw that knowledge directly from Sumire-chan herself. She has a great deal of martial arts knowledge buried in her mind. She’s blocked from accessing it on any regur basis.”

  Baku froze.

  His eyes widened.

  “How curious,” he whispered. “That she should have a martial arts master sleeping within her.”

  He leaned forward slightly, his trunk lowering as if to catch the scent of truth more fully.

  “I do sense some interesting complexity here.”

  Rui tensed beside me. Ume’s fingers brushed my arm quietly. Akuchi’s tail fluffed in excitement.

  “I would very much love to experience the life of a high school student! I considered it, but committing to it on a regur basis was daunting.” Akuchi smirked. “Three months sounds like a fine vacation to me.”

  “Interesting.” Baku eyed Akuchi almost ftly and turned his attention back to Natalia-sama. “Ahem, this expins your interest in her,” Baku murmured, his tone shifting, sharpening. “Now I’m looking forward to this project. Your girl truly is like an onion. I wonder what yers she has underneath.”

  His eyes were unreadable.

  “I’m very curious about how all of this will py out. I will make sure that everything is in order as you specify…”

  Warm sunlight pressed against my eyelids.

  I stirred.

  The sheets beneath me were soft… so cuddly soft. A softness that I’d missed. The pillow smelled faintly of citrus and undry detergent, a scent I didn’t recognize. My eyes fluttered open… and I froze.

  The room wasn’t familiar.

  It was very girly.

  Like… aggressively so.

  Pink curtains drifted zily from an open window overlooking my bed, stirred by a morning breeze. Posters covered the walls. Pictures of smiling anime idols, hot K-pop groups mid-dance pose and a magical-girl anime heroine twirling her staff with sparkles exploding behind her. A shelf overflowed with neatly arranged plushies, and a vanity desk was covered in skincare bottles and hair clips shaped like stars.

  My heart tightened painfully.

  This isn’t my room.

  But then…A wave of memory washed over me. It was soft, subtle and creeping like warm mist.

  Wow… it is. I’m so silly! What’s wrong with me? Am I going senile at sixteen?

  I giggled softly, shaking my head.

  …Right?

  The contradiction made my breath catch.

  The doorknob on the only door leading into this room.

  “Sumire-chan!” a woman’s voice called warmly. “Are you up yet? Breakfast is ready!”

  My chest spasmed.

  That voice was filled with warmth.

  Something about it struck me so deeply I nearly burst into tears. It was like being handed a piece of my life I’d never known I lost.

  The door opened.

  A woman, gentle-faced, her hair half tied back, wearing a soft pastel sweater, peeked inside. Her smile reached her eyes immediately.

  “There you are, sleepyhead! Hurry up and get dressed… you’ll be te for school!”

  School?

  …

  Oh… right. High school.

  My mind scrambled to make sense of everything. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know who she was…

  …

  So silly! She’s my mother!

  Of course she is.

  The thought nded in my head immediately, settling into pce like it had always been there.

  My throat tightened painfully, but she didn’t seem to notice my trembling.

  “Come now, Sumire-chan,” she said gently. “Up, up! Get dressed!”

  I moved automatically, my feet touching the warm wooden floor. My school uniform was neatly folded nearby. It waited on a chair next to my bed: a bzer, a pleated skirt, the soft white button up undershirt already ironed.

  I discovered that I was wearing a set of soft green pajamas with white bunnies running across the fabric, holding mallets and chasing rice balls.

  My hands moved without thinking as I undressed myself in smooth motions like I’d done this a thousand times before. I set the top and bottom aside and drifted to the dresser to choose out a clean pair of panties. Pink and cy. I felt a little strange looking at them in my hands. A little voice in me thrashed and flopped a little. I suppressed it and wiggled out of the white panties that I was already wearing, lifted one leg to snag them, and dropped them in the undry basket. I pulled on the new pair. Soon they snugged securely against me. I wasn't wearing a bra, so I fetched a fresh one from a different drawer, yawning, taking care to choose the panties' match, pink and cy with a cute bow on the front. I pulled the straps over my shoulders, adjusting myself in the cups carefully, and fastened the hooks at my back. There were just two of them to csp. Then I turned my attention back to my waiting uniform.

  I pulled on and buttoned the skirt, snuggling it up my legs, resting on my hips lightly, feeling breezy and lifted the colred button up undershirt over my arms and buttoning it carefully over my breasts, adjusting the colr, gazing at my reflection in the mirror at the desk.

  DOKI-DOKI

  For some reason, the sight of myself made my heart throb a little.

  Cute... Even though I had bed-hair, the sight of myself in most of the school uniform struck me.

  I lifted the neatly ironed bzer, pulled it on, buttoned it carefully, and tied the red ribbon on its chest over that. I next selected a set of bck stockings in another drawer and rolled them up my legs. Then I wandered to the desk mirror and paused there, humming absently as I brushed my hair, gazing at myself as I tidied myself up.

  My hands moved quickly. At first my brushing movements were a little clumsy, like I had no idea what I was doing with my hair, but then I remembered the style that I always wore as I gazed at my reflection. I stared into my bright green eyes as I brushed my long brown hair.

  I thought about wearing a ribbon in my hair from my collection, but decided not to.

  I should probably go for a mature look today.

  The face reflected in my mirror stirred my soul for a moment as I studied myself, but then I smiled and set the brush down, ready to attack the day.

  The hallway outside my room was narrow and lined with family photos. Ones that I didn’t remember having taken. But as I gazed at the framed pictures, I remembered the events they depicted perfectly.

  I headed quickly to where the smells of breakfast rose from. The family kitchen downstairs. Inside there was a dining table. Light streamed through ce curtains on the far wall.

  My father sat at the head of the table, reading the morning news on a tablet. The sight sent chills up on my back. My smile slipped off my face, but then he looked up and when he saw me he set his tablet down with a broad grin.

  For some reason that shocked me.

  “Sumire. Morning. You’re cutting it close today. Come sit down and eat!”

  I swallowed hard. “S–Sorry dad.”

  Why did apologizing make my chest hurt so much? Why did he care so much? My dad normally–

  Of course… My dad loves me. They’ll think I’m weird if I keep giving them strange looks like this. What’s wrong with me? Smile, smile, smile!

  My mother pced a bowl of miso soup before me, followed by grilled fish, rice, and steaming hot tamagoyaki. The aroma was familiar, extremely comforting. The smell made my stomach gurgle impolitely.

  I was afraid for a moment that my period had started, but I realized that my stomach was rexed and I was just impatient to eat my mother’s cooking.

  “Yum!” I said, smiling warmly at mom. “Great as always!”

  “Eat quickly, dear. You don’t want to be te.”

  I nodded, picking up my chopsticks.

  Before I could take a single bite, a loud thump echoed from outside the kitchen.

  A boy with messy hair stumbled into the kitchen wearing a middle school uniform. His tie was crooked. He glowered at the sunlight like it was personally offensive.

  “You’re te,” my father said ftly to him.

  “You’re ter than your zy sister for a change,” my mother scolded gently.

  He grunted, flopped into his seat, and started shoveling food into his mouth. “There was an online Tekku tournament that kind of went te.”

  “You shouldn’t stay up so te! If it hurts your grades, I’ll have to take your Gamestation 5 away.” Dad chided.

  I stared.

  I have a brother? But I–

  Another wave of memory surged up.

  Oh, yeah. He was annoying and usually sleepy-looking. Always forgetting to do his math homework. This was normal life. We didn’t always get along.

  This was…

  Shinohara Haru.

  …right?

  I had a feeling that this wasn’t right, although it at the same time felt completely right.

  My brain was tangled up between the contradictions.

  My mother touched my shoulder, pulling me back to the moment.

  “Eat quickly Sumire-chan. You don’t want to miss getting to homeroom in time.”

  “Right… right. Sorry!”

  Somehow, I finished breakfast in a fsh. I hesitated before eating, expecting the food to taste much worse than it smelled, but at the first taste, I couldn’t stop myself from shoveling food in my mouth.

  My mother giggled. “Be a little more dylike, Sumire-chan. The girls will make fun of you if you eat like that at school and the boys will start calling you a tomboy.”

  I shivered and nodded, finishing the rest more carefully.

  That would suck.

  My little brother looked at me contemptuously and continued shoveling his own food in, in his own sleepy boyish way, totally unapologetic.

  Outside, my bicycle waited for me near the front gate. It was a pale mint-green mamachari with a basket.

  I hadn’t remembered owning a bicycle, although I’d considered it. But I never imagined having such a cute one…

  My dysphoria sted until the moment I touched the handlebars.

  Then I remembered learning how to ride it.I recalled every scrape on my knees and legs when I was learning or fell off it.I remembered the morning wind whipping at my skirt, the constant war to keep it from flipping up.

  My breath shook as I swung my leg over the seat, shouldering my school bag.

  “I’m supposed to go to school, but I… I don’t know where to go… and…” I whispered to myself, waiting an extra moment, looking both ways as I pedaled out the gate onto the narrow street. Others were walking each direction and there were even a few cars driving past. The students in my uniform were heading leftward.

  Why am I hesitating? Is something supposed to happen?

  Haru left the house behind me and walked the other direction without a word.

  What a brat! He didn’t say anything to his sister!

  I waited for something but nothing happened. I didn’t remember much for some strange reason but my body did.

  Without thinking, I turned left and kept going that way, pedalling. My bike’s wheels humming over the asphalt as if following grooves worn by a thousand routine commutes.

  Mine or someone else’s? I frowned.

  The path curved. Familiar and other less familiar houses rolled past. My legs pedaled automatically, like they were on autopilot.

  At an intersection, dozens of students and pedestrians waited for the crossing tune to py. I squoze the brake handles and let a leg lower from a pedal as I waited impatiently.

  I might be te at this rate!!! Please sing for me and let me go through!!! I mentally said to the lights, rocking impatiently.

  The older shopkeeper stood outside her store, smiled at me and raised a hand.

  “Good morning, Sumire-chan!”

  My heart lurched.

  I would always buy Gari Gari-kun ice pops there in the summer.

  I bowed lightly to her like always. “G–Good morning Oba-chan!”

  Other adults waved at me as though I were a regur part of their mornings.

  I blushed at the attention.

  The crossing tune finally chimed.

  “Thank you!” I said softly as I pedalled across, weaving between other students in uniforms and all the chatter.

  Other students mostly ignored me, unlike the adults, but not entirely.Some gnced at me, and some didn’t.That was normal. It was completely normal.

  The school rose ahead. It had a rge, white-wall around it. The complex was impressive. A tall sign by the gate dispyed its name in bold calligraphy. Cherry trees framed the entrance, their branches bare but beautiful.

  Students streamed in, greeting the teachers stationed at the gate.

  I walked my bicycle through the gate into the courtyard, heading toward the bike racks where I automatically locked it in pce out of habit. My feet followed a path I didn’t know until I walked it, as though I had for a long time.

  I stopped at the shoe lockers, found mine quickly and exchanged my shoes.Then I hurried down the nearest hall.Then I took a left turn, shouldering my bag, worried that I was going to get lost, but I didn’t.I came to a set of stairs and went up without any hesitation.

  I checked the room numbers until I found one, right where my feet took me.

  Cssroom 2-B.

  My homeroom css was right where it had always been.

  I shouldn't have been so worried! I’m so scatterbrained!

  My heart fluttered painfully as I slid the door open.

  The room buzzed softly with half-awake chatter. A pair of boys argued about test scores in the back row. I could barely make out most of the words they spoke.

  I quietly walked to my seat.

  It was my seat.

  Right up against the windows. Just three from the front.

  I sat down, my hands trembling.A strange loneliness settled over me like fog.

  So this is my life… So normal. I can’t believe it…

  I shook my head. It was very normal. I’d always been alone in high school.

  Why did I feel like something immense was missing from my life even though all that felt so normal?

  This morning hadn’t been entirely typical, especially considering my behavior

  I stared out the window at the pale morning sky, my heartbeat soft but unsteady.

  A moment ter, someone slid into the chair beside mine with a sharp scraping noise.

  I turned my head away from the beautiful view, welcoming yet another.

  It was a girl.

  She was the same age as me, with long bck hair tied in a high ponytail, the strands sleek and shining. Striking blue eyes… so intense they bordered on fierce. A toned, athletic build under her uniform. She looked like the captain of every sports team at once.

  She leaned her elbow on my desk without hesitation like a yakuza.

  “Oi, Sumire.”

  I flinched.

  Her tone was blunt, warm and scolding all at once. “Why’d you come to school alone today, baka?”

  I blinked at her.

  Her expression softened just barely, though her gre remained ser-focused on me.

  “You texted me te st night saying you’d walk together with me today.” She flicked my forehead lightly. “Don’t ditch me like that. I’ll hold it against you if you do it again, got it?”

  My heart sputtered.

  Her voice.Her presence.Her nearness.

  I knew her.

  I remembered her ugh.Her overprotectiveness.

  She had promised me… a promise that I had forgotten.

  I’ll always walk home with you, so don’t zone out so much like a ditz. You’re not a forlorn waif. You have me now.

  “…Sorry,” I whispered. “I… forgot.”

  DOKI-DOKI

  My heart thrummed softly.

  I had forgotten one of the best things in my life.

  How could I? I’m scum!

  I couldn’t help crying.

  She frowned, leaning closer.

  “You feeling sick, Susu? You never forget when it’s something with me. Don’t you start now!” Aoi smirked faintly.

  “Come on, cheer up. Homeroom’s starting. And I’m not letting you walk home alone today either, so don’t even think about running off without me. We have some work to do.”

  Her hand brushed mine accidentally, maybe, maybe not.

  A strange warmth bloomed in my chest.

  I cried for some strange reason I didn’t understand and she gently touched my cheek, before digging in her bag for a sporty kerchief. It had Tekku characters fighting printed on it.

  Relwing

  Bonus images generated by MajorKerinaObviously details are off, but we can't have everything perfect all the time, right? Cute right?

  Here's some fanservice! MajorKerina wanted to push things further and got this adorable result! Yes, the shorts are not accurate for this scene, but we're close to being able to see Sumire in a nearly undressed state! *kawaiinosebleed*